Where did those civ1,2 features go?

[Grille]

In civ1 & civ2 there used to be those nice pop-ups telling you about other civs' tech tradings and developments - like "Civ A obtained Tech B from Civ C" or "Civ D discovered Tech E" - if there was an embassy in the right place.
Now I have to check out diplo screens -theoretically- turnwise to keep track on any progress. I might guess foreign tech discoveries/tradings from a drop in costs of my own current research project. Probably I could estimate a big tech headstart by spotting certain city improvements due to investigation, noticing modern foreign units on the map or wonder-building pop-ups.
Not that nifty , as tech trading has become a much more vital issue in civ3 than it used to be in civ1 and civ2.

In Conquests, a "detail level" of the desired information pop-ups could be combined w/ the current status of intelligence quality, i.e. embassy, spy, maybe another more (or less) sophisticated way (?) - thinking of sth like "A traveller from F-Town tells us that Civ G has learned Tech H", if there's no embassy/spy, with RNG triggering for the traveller appearance in case of foreign discovery.
Certain "detail levels" might include information whether the target civ has learned the tech on its own, traded for it, the return service for a tech trade or just got it *somehow*. This could also apply to resource deals, of course (but these infos could be rather restricted to appear on the trade advisor screen than popping up all the time).

A related check box in the game preferences might be implemented, such as "dis/enable information pop-ups for already known techs". That feature could reduce information flood if there were many backward civs in a game.

Anyway, I'd just be happy if any tech development info would pop up in the simple, *traditional* way.

 

[SHard]

"Civ D discovered Tech E"

For a message like this you probably wouldn't even need an embassy, as after all, you can see all the techs the AI knows using diplomacy anyhow (unless they are a whole tech tier ahead of you). I agree that this feature would be very useful, and I too would like to see it in the Conquests Expansion.

 

[joespaniel]

I agree. It's no fun having to check the diplo screens every turn.

This is a really good idea.

 

[Peebo]

yes, i also liked how in civ2 they told you when another civ starting working on a wonder or was nearly done, so you knew if you had competition or not

 

[RX2000]

I kinda miss being told that 2 other civs had signed an alliance against you to "contain your agression." I wish they would bring that back, and expand the way MPPs work. I would like to see something pop up saying "The evil French, Germans, and English have signed a 3 way alliance against us!"

 

[Alone]

Absolutely agree, we need more information about what's goin' on in neighborhood!

 

[Grille]

@Peebo: As for the competition issue: In civ3, you get informed if a known civ starts building a wonder (or in case of wonder-cascading, if a civ switches to another available when current wonder got completed by someone else). You don't even need an embassy, it's just contact.

As long as you can't cash-rush a wonder in civ3, an information about a soon to be completed wonder (like in civ2) would not lead to a huge advantage (IMHO, that civ2 feature was even exploitiv - kind of insurance to avoid being beaten to a wonder). W/ current rules, if you had access to this kind of info (theoretically, you can even get such an info in civ3 by using the "investigate city" option from your embassy - and delay enemy's wonder production by "sabotage production" from your intel ag.), you would still need a GL sitting around to rush. Then, if you had a GL, you would probably rush your wonder ASAP to get its benefits earlier and not to avoid the spawning of another GL (maybe there are rare occasions where you could save a GL and just use him for wonder rush in case of *emergency*). In the early phase of a continents/archipel-map game, you would probably lack contacts and just get the "wonder completed" info. But especially then, you'd want an early wonder ASAP anyway (so you'd use an available GL immediatelly) and wouldn't really be able to take an advantage if you knew your opponent would complete a wonder soon (w/o a GL at hand).

@RX2000: I think civ3's MPP/MA system has somewhat replaced the "contain aggression" treaties. I mean if I attack (under MPP triggering conditions) a civ that has signed an MPP w/ another, I'd also be at war w/ that ally, that's very similar to the civ2 system. And a 3-party MA network might be as interesting as complicated, probably resulting in more treaty breakings by ai and a complex negotiation system (plus, gang-ups by multiple MAs against one civ are possible right now anyway).


Of course, both of you made suggestions that have pros and cons (you got my view towards these ), but implementations here do certainly need a game rules change, at least for the MPP/MA thing.

What bothers me is just that I can't get the mentioned tech info (at least for techs that are researchable for me atm) by an easier way - no game rule needs to be changed. It's just:

by joespaniel:
It's no fun having to check the diplo screens every turn.